Genus of rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic
Klobiodon
is a genus of
rhamphorhynchid
pterosaur
from the
Middle Jurassic
Taynton Limestone Formation
of
Oxfordshire
, England.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The
type species
of
Klobiodon
is
Klobiodon rochei
. The generic name
Klobiodon
means "small cage tooth," from the Greek κλωβ?ον,
klobion
, "little cage", and ?δ?ν,
odon
, "tooth", in reference to the large anterior laniaries that appear to form a fish grab, while the
specific name
rochei
honors the comic book artist Nick Roche for his anatomically correct designs inspired by dinosaurs.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
The
holotype
of
Klobiodon rochei
, NHMUK PV OR 47991, was first mentioned by
George Robert Waterhouse
(1878) as part of the collection of the
British Museum of Natural History
, where he mentions
Richard Owen
intended to name the specimen
Pterodactylus raptor
in an unpublished manuscript. It had been donated by
Robert Marsham
.
[2]
[3]
Richard Lydekker
(1888) referred the specimen to
Rhamphorhynchus depressirostris
(listed by him as
Rhamphocephalus
depressirostris
and now known as
Dolichorhamphus
depressirostris
).
[4]
In their revision of pterosaur remains from the
Great Oolite Group
, Michael O'Sullivan and David Martill (2018) declared
Rhamphorhynchus depressirostris
a
nomen dubium
at ?Scaphognathinae indeterminatae, coining
Klobiodon rochei
for NHMUK PV OR 47991. A second specimen, OUM J.28410, was referred to the species but only provisionally because it lacks the, diagnostic, teeth.
[1]
Description
[
edit
]
Klobiodon
is one of the largest pterosaurs known from the middle Jurassic. Its adult wingspan was estimated at two metres.
[1]
The describing authors established a number of distinguishing traits. The lower jaw shows a unique combination of elongated front fang-like laniaries with short and robust teeth in a more backward position. The teeth more to the rear are at least 1.3 times longer than their tooth-sockets are wide. The rear laniary is at least 1.4 times and perhaps 2.4 times longer than the tooth to its rear (which could be an only partially erupted replacement tooth). The longest laniaries are at least 1.5 times taller than the vertical thickness of the front tooth-bearing lower jaw bone, the dentary, at its tallest point.
[1]
The right lower jaw has a preserved length of fourteen centimetres. To the front, it gradually curves to below. A piece at the front has broken off. The original length of the jaw including this piece was estimated at eighteen centimetres. The missing piece was assumed by the authors to have borne one additional tooth. The fossil shows four teeth, which then would have been the second to fifth. The second and third teeth are elongated, recurved and inclined to the front. Such teeth are called laniaries. The fourth and fifth teeth are noticeably shorter but almost as wide, giving them a robust appearance. They are also straighter, especially at their rear edges, and perpendicular to the jaw.
[1]
Phylogeny
[
edit
]
Klobiodon
was placed in the
Rhamphorhynchidae
in 2018. At several places in the describing article, a position in the
Rhamphorhynchinae
is suggested, but the authors eventually determine that it might also be member of the
Scaphognathinae
, concluding: "
Klobiodon rochei
is therefore conservatively identified here as a member of the Rhamphorhynchidae rather than assigned to either subgroup".
[1]
Klobiodon
was found to be the
sister taxon
to the contemporaneous
Dolicorhamphus
by Andres (2021).
[5]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
O’Sullivan, M. and Martill, D.M. 2018. Pterosauria of the Great Oolite Group (Bathonian, Middle Jurassic) of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, England. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 63 (X): xxx?xxx.
http://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app63/app004902018.pdf
- ^
Waterhouse, G. 1878. Department of Geology. Acquisitions. I. By Donation A. Vertebrata. (3.) Reptilia. In: C.T. Newton (ed.), Account of the Income and Expenditure of the British Museum (Special Trust Funds), for the Financial Year Ended the 31st Day of March 1878: and, Return of the Number of Persons Admitted to Visit the Museum in Each Year From 1872 to 1877, Both Years Inclusive; Together With a Statement of the Progress Made in the Arrangement of the Collections; and an Account of Objects Added to Them in the Year 1877. p. 593?636 (1?44) Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. 1878. Accounts and Papers: 1878. Vol. LX. Volume 15. 626 pp. The Queen’s Printer, London.
- ^
Ingles, J.M. and Sawyer, F.C. 1979. A catalogue of the Richard Owen collection of palaeontological and zoological drawings in the British Museum (Natural History). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Historical Series 6: 109?197.
- ^
Lydekker, R. 1888. Catalogue of the fossil reptilia and amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History) Part I: Containing the Orders Ornithosauria, Crocodilia, Dinosauria, Squamata, Rhynchocephalia, and Proterosauria. 339 pp. Order of the Trustees, London.
- ^
Andres, Brian (2021-12-07).
"Phylogenetic systematics of
Quetzalcoatlus
Lawson 1975 (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea)"
.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
.
41
(sup1): 203?217.
doi
:
10.1080/02724634.2020.1801703
.
ISSN
0272-4634
.
S2CID
245078533
.